ARGENTINA: Argentine Education Ministry proposes that schools bring in television sets for students to watch World Cup.

Record ID: 447965

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Argentine Education Ministry proposes that schools bring in television sets for students to watch World Cup.
  • Date: 8th May 2006
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STUDENTS WATCHING WORLD CUP GAME WITH THEIR TEACHERS
  • Embargoed: 23rd May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA5QEO1Z0UEBNTRDXH44EI1OV2E
  • Story Text: With just over a month to go before the World Cup kicks off in Germany, preparations are already underway in soccer-crazy Argentina.
    The nation that produced one of the sport's greatest icons, Diego Maradona, already has two World Cup titles under its belt, and a fervour for football that is legendary in itself.
    But now the country's passion for football is becoming institutionalized, with the Ministry for Education proposing to use the sport as an educational tool in Argentina's classrooms.
    With an eye on the upcoming championship, Education Minister Daniel Filmus recently launched a new programme for schools, designed to help teachers use the World Cup as a tool for learning.
    Facing the likelihood of empty classrooms during Argentina's matches, Filmus proposed showing the games in school, and designing a programme built around the event.
    "We want them all to be in school, and all of those in school to be able to use this passion that all the kids naturally have for football, the boys and girls, this passion that they have for Argentina, to use it also as an instrument for study," said the Education Minister at the launch of a new book specifically designed for this purpose.
    Top Argentine goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri was also present at the launch, hoping to encourage kids to stay in school and pay attention, while at the same time continuing to support the team.
    "Maybe all of this didn't happen before, all this about learning about what the World Cup can be, and having the kids in contact with what can happen studying while the World Cup is being played, and well, may they continue learning, may they pay attention to the classes and we will do everything possible to see if we can give them a further joy, and celebrate another World championship," said Abbondanzieri at the event.
    But while schoolkids all over Argentina may be welcoming the move to allow them to watch soccer on school time, not everyone is in agreement. At the capital's prestigious National College of Buenos Aires, Principal Horacio Sanguinetti argues that bringing televisions into the classrooms will result in more lost time than just the ninety minutes for each match.
    "Whoever says that they are missing a few minutes by watching the football match has no idea what a school is in managing the kids. You have to work out the victory, you have to work out the grief, that day is completely lost," he explained.
    Other schools welcome the idea, but are worried that resources won't stretch far enough to ensure its implementation. For schools that boast enough televisions, the notion of showing games in class may make sense. But for others in less advantaged areas, the television-student ratio makes the programme impractical.
    Fernando Sacarello is Vice Principal of Buenos Aires' Number 16 School of Middle Education. While he sees the attraction in the idea of watching games with students and using them as springboards for learning, he will have difficulty implementing it in the school where he works.
    "It's an attractive measure. We are all football fans in Argentina. Really, the World Cup is something that moves multitudes, but you can't throw an idea out there without known if you can implement it. Can the Minister explain to me how a school with one 20-inch television is going to have 700 students watching the game at the same time?" he asked.
    But the thousands of students who will be most directly affected by the Minister's proposal are enthusiastic. Students are already proposing ways in which the World Cup can be utilized to teach students about history, geography, language and culture.
    "We would have to find things out about Argentina's opponent, and be able to learn in English what that country does, the culture of the other country," suggested Cinthia Morales, when asked how the football championship could be converted into a lesson.
    The final decision over whether students get to watch the games during class will be left to individual Argentine provinces. A total of 30,000 schools will be given the new book to help them utilize the World Cup in lessons.
    The Germany championship kicks off on June 9 with the hosts playing Costa Rica. Argentina's first game is against the Ivory Coast on June 10, with the South American team also facing the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro in the first round.
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